


Under Pressure and Under Rated

by Shelly_Harmon



Series: Combustion [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 11:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8444587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelly_Harmon/pseuds/Shelly_Harmon
Summary: Danny hasn't had it easy since he moved to Hawaii but... when a paper work day turns into planning a funeral... Danny may slightly lose his grip on reality. Or does he?Chapter 2 has been edited and proof read. Chapter 3 has been edited and proof read. But still no beta yet. It's all me.





	1. Chapter 1

Danny was in his office doing paper work pen flying over papers when the doors to Five-o’s main room burst in with the rest of the team minus Steve. Chin slung the door wide in his precipitancy, “There’s been an accident.” His face really told the whole tale. Whatever happenstance that had occurred this time was going to leave Danny broken in more ways than one. His proclivity told him so.

 

Danny picked up his head, “What do you mean?” he asked pushing away from the desk after dropping his pen and came round the desk to look at the rest of the team. Kono, Chin, and Lou all looked at him in sorrow waiting for him to break down and apart. For there to very suddenly to be a schism between him and them. “What’s going on? What do I  _ not _ know?”

 

They all scrutinised him before peering at each other. Lou was the gallant one this time. Lou stepped forward grabbing both of his shoulders, “Danny… Steve died in a car accident  two hours ago.” Danny gawked at the ex-swat commander with wide, round eyes. Not moving, not breathing and certainly not reacting.

 

“I think he’s going into shock.” Danny could barely hear Kono suggest distantly as he turned around and walked back into his office shutting the glass door. His hands went to his hips. They watched as his frame shook for several long minutes. The detective scrubbed at his face enough to make them wonder if he’d abrade it off. He plucked up the landline gingerly and dialed a number on it. Slowly he brought the receiver to his ear. They watched as he spoke on the phone for several long minutes and scrubbed a hand over his face and fingers press against his eyes. His whole demeanor screaming at them that he was in pain and probably more than he should have been for a partner and best friend. But Steve and Danny had always had a different sort of relationship.

 

“Hello, director please. This is Detective Danny Williams. It’s about McGarrett. Yes I’ll hold.” Danny pinned the phone between his ear and shoulder as he sat down hard in his chair. Steve was dead. Gone.  _ “No no no nonono! This can’t be!” _ his brain screamed at him.  _ “I’d know if the idiot was dead. He can’t be gone.” _ But he is.  _ “He wouldn’t have left me.” _ Danny’s mind dissolved into turmoil until it was interrupted by the CIA director. He was almost grateful for that. Almost.

 

“How can I help you Detective Williams?” was the silky tone breaking through his inner tirade.

 

“Sir. I need some contact information for Doris McGarrett.” Danny said with a shaky voice and a resolute tone.

 

“Can I ask why?” he asked with an intrigued tone.

 

“Her son is dead. I’d like to make the family notification myself.” Danny pulled the microphone part of the receiver from his ear and took several shaky breaths.

 

“Can I ask what happened?” the director inquired. There was something in his tone but Danny was too much of a wreck to even process it. It was just one more thing to deal with in the coming weeks.

 

“The investigation is still ongoing but so far it looks like a hit and run, sir.”

 

“I see. I will personally e-mail you her contact information once she has been pulled from the field.”

 

“Thank you sir.” Danny retorted in a clipped tone. Talking with anyone would irritate the Jersey native.

 

“I’m sorry for your loss, Detective.” and the director of the CIA hung up.

 

Danny slumped and cradled his face in his hands again after he clicked the office phone back in the holder. Looking up he saw they were all still there. Forcing himself up; he opened the door, “Go home. All of you. I’ll call the governor and tell her we’re off duty and call for the next week. Now beat it.” He waved them off before turning around, and shutting the door behind him. As they made way to leave they all turned around to watch as the lights clicked off, one by one but one. Danny was still in his office on the phone.

 

At the end of the week on a beautiful Friday evening Steve’s full military honors funeral was held. A ton of people showed up military, police, civilians and everything inbetween. Danny stood behind Doris as she accepted the flag over her son’s casket. Danny’s uniform was crisp. All stiff lines and hard edges. His daughter sat beside Doris as Steve’s beneficiary. He’d left it all to Grace Williams who was in constant silent tears. So Danny stood behind his daughter and Steve’s mother a white glove clad hand on each shoulder doing his best to not fall apart because he had dozens of people around him already doing that; that depended on Danny to be strong for them forgetting Danny had just lost Steve too. Probably lost Steve more than just about anyone other than Mary, Debbie, Doris and of course Grace along with Charlie.

 

After the funeral, for the rest of the day, people came and went from the McGarrett house to express their condolences. Not once did anyone pay attention to Danny’s pain. Even the Five-o members forgot about Danny’s heart. Even Gracie did. But that was okay with Danny. He didn’t want or need the attention. He had to be strong for everyone else. Steve always had chastised him for always giving and never taking. He could almost hear one of the few rants that Steve would get on about it. Gods did he wish that he’d walk into the room ranting about Danny needing to take care of himself.

 

The next week Five-o also had off and Danny was grateful for that. It gave him time to grieve and compose himself. To try to cope and find himself once more. But he’d assured the governor that Five-o would continue on as usual come Monday when she’d called on the last Friday of leave. She was ecstatic about it. Danny just hurt. 

 

Danny did change over that week by himself. Rachel had taken Grace and Charlie to England to get away from Hawaii for a while so he was all alone. He moved into an apartment because staying in their house was just _ too much _ . He also cut off his hair. He didn’t think he had anyone to bother with it anymore so off it went. He also finally gave into Steve’s begging and lost the suit and tie get up for work. He pulled out the cargos that he only wore when Steve was dragging him hiking or something else completely outdoorsy. The dress shirts and slacks were shoved to the back of his now tiny closet and so were his loafers. Jeans and cargos were broken out and so was the steel toed boots and his riding boots (for the motorcycle stashed in the garage that rarely ever was broken out except on vacation days). Danny closed himself off and shoved the emotions away. He “didn’t need them any more”.

 

When Monday rolled around Five-o walked in to see Danny standing at the computer going over a new case, “Why didn’t you call us?” Kono asked.

 

“Told you that you had till Monday, interruption free. Just made sure it happened.” Danny replied voice emotionless. Then they noticed the changes. A regular tee-shirt and jeans. The slacks, tie and leather loafers were gone. So was the styled hair. Actually he’d gotten a haircut that no longer required hair gel or spray. 

 

Chin shook his head and asked instead, “What do we have?” because he wasn’t sure if he could cope with the answer if he even got one. Which he highly doubted.

 

“Seems like a triple homicide home invasion gone wrong. Would be too if not for the victims.” Danny swiped on the computer and pulled up the vic IDs. They all groaned. “Pretty much my reaction when Duke told me the IDs. So I started digging and found offshore accounts that are tied to shell corporations. Traced those and finally after two day’s worth of work I got a hit.” another swipe and another ID and jacket came up. “Look familiar?”

 

“Yakuza.” Kono groaned.

 

“Exactly. Let’s go pick ‘em up. See what we can squeeze out of them.” Danny said. Looked at his watch, “After this phone call.” he said just as his phone rang. “Guys get yourselves caught up and see if you guys get anything other leads and we’ll follow up on them. Go. Learn things.” and he disappeared into his office. 

 

When they looked around the room they saw that Steve’s office glass had been replaced with black glass. They peaked into the room and saw that nothing had been disturbed. All was left as if Steve would be returning to it soon. As if Steve was just on vacation and not six feet under. “How could we have forgotten?” Kono asked as she stepped over to the desk and picked up the picture of Steve and Danny. It was taken on her wedding day and the gold bands on chains around each man’s neck was a detail she’d missed a thousand times before now. “How could we have missed that they’d gotten married?”

 

“Wait- what?” Lou asked as he looked over her shoulder just as chin did. Kono pointed out the rings which had them all looking at each other. “I don’t know Kono. I just don’t know. On both fronts.”

 

“We were to caught up in our own grief and Danny is so giving we forget to give back.” Chin whispered full of shame. Then he turned around and left going to the table desk and starting on his work. Lou and Kono followed shortly after that themselves.

  
  


\---H-50---

  
  


It was three months and Danny started making excuses for not joining them for Holidays and team drinks or dinners. Three months after that and he stopped making excuses at all when he turned them down. 

 

At eight months and Danny stopped going with the team to anything not work related. At nine months they started following Danny on their off days and in side three weeks they realized that every day Danny wasn’t working that he spent at least one picnic at Steve’s grave. 

 

At eleven months they realised that Danny could be just as careless and reckless as Steve had been. In those eleven months they’d seen Grace twice and both times she’d showed up at the office to tell Danny (in the end) that is was his fault that Steve was dead and that it should have been him. It should have been Danny. They were shocked both times that Danny didn’t deny it. He just hung his head. 

 

It was at the year and a half mark that They realised that Danny hadn’t seen or heard from Grace in months because he wasn’t even sent an invite to Grace’s graduation. Early graduation at 16. They’d never seen Dany so mad and sad at the same time before. They didn’t mention Grace again after that. 

 

\---H-50---

  
  


It was the second anniversary that  _ it _ happened. The thing that changed everything. Danny had disappeared for three days when they finally broke down and went to his apartment. They picked the lock and went in. The apartment was sterile clean and showed that Danny having separated himself from everyone, and no longer having Grace or Charlie coming around since Grace blamed Danny for Steve’s death that Danny focused his energies elsewhere. Keeping everything clean and orderly. The way Steve liked. Going through the apartment felt like an invasion of privacy to the three friends. That was until they went into the bedroom and found the wall of obsession.

 

Danny nowhere in the apartment. They went over the wall and found what Danny had done. Danny had been gathering evidence for the last two years that Steve wasn’t killed in a car accident. That in fact Steve wasn’t dead. And all that evidence was laid out in such a way it was easily to understand. Danny had always said that Steve wouldn’t be taken out by a simple car bomb with a faulty timer. They’d never believed him. 

 

Grabbing the notes and everything else that wasn’t tacked onto the wall they went back to the office after snapping pictures of the wall. They went through it all and and found ironclad proof that Steve wasn’t dead. That was until they got a phone call. A video call actually. They all looked to one another before Chin answered it. “Five-o… Kelly, Grover and lovely Kalakaua. You see…” the masked man said, “I have someone you want… but you need to give me something in return.” and the man stepped aside to reveal Danny. He had cuts bruises and two black eyes. 

 

He looked up at the screen and back at the masked man. “They don’t know shit. And they won’t give you anything.” and then Danny spit on the floor. Chin and Kono both were running a trace and coming up empty.

 

“Give me Steven J. McGarrett and no one gets hurt.” The masked man growled after back handing Danny. “If you don’t delivery The SEAL in 48 hours Detective Daniel McGarrett dies.” and the feed was cut.

 

“What are we going to do?” Kono asked in a panic. “Steve’s dead!”

 

Chin looked back over the pictures of the wall of obsession. “Not according to Danny, he’s not.”

 

“You’d be right.” Came from the man, the myth, the legend himself from the doorway to Five-o offices. 


	2. And Yet Here We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A system shock? Yes please.

They gaped at Steve as he eyes the monitors with something akin to fondness and anger all at the same time. “Really should have known better than to marry a cop. A detective actually.” Steve chuckled. “The irony that my mother said the same thing to me.” The team didn’t immediately notice the fond thousand yard “I’m back in my memories” glazed eyes looked. Though that was reasonable since they were reeling themselves from the new information. In the form of Steve in the flesh.

“How- what- why- wha- how?” Kono stuttered. Her chocolate brown eyes blown wide in shock mouth just barely ajar and her fingers on autopilot fiddling with her own wedding band. It wasn’t like she was unaware that when Danny had sent her home that first day of Steve’s accident that she’d hugged her own husband twice as tight and kissed him with twice the passion.

Steve pointed to the table. “Study Danny’s work. He left you the answers. For now, though, we need to plan a sting. On Elijah Hesse. The Victor and Anton Hesse’s father.”

“You’re kidding right?” Lou asked.

“No. The son of a bitch has Danny to get to me. The very reason that the Navy, CIA, NCIS and DOJ made me disappear. Told them it wouldn’t work. Told them that Danny wouldn’t believe it. Ever. Buuuut nooo. Don’t listen to the man married to the stubborn son of a bitch.” Steve snorted sarcastically. He spun his wedding ring around his finger unconsciously as he looked at the last image of Danny frozen on the monitor.

“We thought you were overestimating the man.” Came from the CIA director himself behind Steve. 

“And yet here we are.” Steve said voice colored with disdain not even turning to look at the man.

“And yet here we are.” the director quoted shaking his head. He wasn’t surprised by Steve’s passive aggressive anger.  What he was surprised about was that it seemed his team knew nothing about Steve and Danny’s marriage. It would all be rather fascinating any other time. Not so much this time.

Kono glared at the unknown man but turned back to Steve, “So what do we know boss man?”

Steven strode over to the computer table and logged into the Navy’s system pulling up his un-redacted files on the Hesse family. “Elijah Hesse…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been edited and lengthened. Still short but it feels right now so...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates. I've gone back over and done some revising and editing. We'll see how this goes. I make no promises.

Danny walked up to his abysmal apartment door and fumbled in his pocket for his keys. It had been a long day. No- a long two years. He was back to living in the apartment because he couldn’t bare to walk around that large empty house. Not now that Steve wouldn’t be coming back to it. Or at least not for some time yet. But why? That’s what Danny didn’t understand out of all of it. Why fake Steve’s death? How would that solve any of Steve’s problems? Knowing that someone had gone through the painstaking process of faking his death left Danny with more questions than answers. Not a feeling that Danny was overly fond of.

Through all this thinking with his sluggish mind he didn’t hear the light foot steps coming up behind him till it was too late. By then he’d been clocked over the head and tasered in the back at the same time. Danny was out cold to the world. His attacker on the other hand hefted Danno’s dead weight to the stolen van and took off.

Danny didn’t have an over reaction at being abducted (unlike he usually would have), what he did have a reaction to was how he was being woken up. A bucket of half frozen (slushy) sea water to the face. Danny coughed and sputtered the water from his mouth and nose before his head was yanked backwards by his short hair. “Where is your husband?”

Danny coughed again but replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about-” backhanded the sound of flesh clashing with flesh rang through the room, “I buried my husband two years ago.” 

Danny could say that honestly. Because he didn’t know where Steve was and as far as the world was concerned Lt. Commander Steven J. McGarrett was dead. Even if the evidence doesn’t match up very well. Okay at all. But the point is Steve is dead to the rest of the world. So until Chin, Kono and Grover realize that Danny’s missing he’s dead to Danno too.

“Don’t play games with me Detective. I’d just hate to see something happen with your children.” The Scottish accented man threatened. The threat was enough to have Danny closing his eyes and sucking in a breath trying to steal himself. He knew this was only going to get uglier.

The man bashed Danny’s face with his fist. Braking the nose and leaving two black eyes. Danny looked up blood dripping down his and covering his shirt looking completely unimpressed. Danny arched a brow, “You know I’ve been through torture before. This is not persuading me to talk. At all.” Danny gave it a minute before throwing in there with a smirk, "Besides my four year old hits harder than you."

“Then this will.” The Scott said as he grabbed a knife from his boot. This was his favorite way to play. Carving them up like a Thanksgiving turkey. The twisted sociopath enjoyed hearing them scream and seeing their blood pool in the most interesting of ways. 

 

\---H-50---

  
Steve ran down the street and around the corner as he had every day for the last eighteen months, three weeks, two days and sixteen hours in counting. He wished he was back home. He wished he could see Danny. Hold him. More importantly he wished he could have Danny with him right here. That would at least have made the last two years bearable. However that hadn’t been possible. Unfortunately. Very, very unfortunately. All the SEAL training in the world would never have prepared him to be away from his husband like this. It tore at his very  _ soul _ . 

Rounding the final corner to get to the little apartment that he had been given here in Newark he slowed down scanning the area. Spotting the nondescript vehicle he eyed the driver. The driver that had yet to spot him. Good he took his phone out stopping just out of the Scott’s eyesight and took a zoomed in picture. Sending it to his handler he turned back the other way and headed to the meeting place earlier than he needed to. There was no feasible way he was going into that apartment. Not with a watch sitting outside.

Sitting at the hotel bar he smiled at the barista as she moved onto the next client. Grabbing his coffee he turned and scanned the room as he casually sat sipping the hot drink. He had found it ironic and almost hilarious that he had been placed in Danny’s home town. Though now he could say that he did indeed know what the hell hockey was and that he was a fan of Danny’s NJ Devils. If only to remind him that Danny watched the Devil’s games just as religiously as the Jets. Even if the Jets were bound to lose. It was the principle of it… or so Danno insisted vehemently.

Seeing his handler step up to the bar he shrugged at the look he got, “The apartment has been spotted by Connal Sheppardson. Hesse’s best friend.” he stated without preamble.

“I see.”

“No you don’t. Because if Sheppardson is here with me. His more deadly counterpart and husband is with Danno. And if Alexander is with Danno. They  _ know _ for a  _ fact _ that I’m not dead. And you know that Danny didn’t believe that I died in that crash and the explosion. Danny wouldn’t have believed it for a minute.” Steve said in a dark and callous tone.

“Made a good show of it if he didn’t.”

“Joe… please. Just… Just check on Danny for me. Please Joe.” Steve said meeting the thousand yard stare of Joe White. The older man sighed and nodded. 

“Alright. I’ll go check and make sure that Hesse’s Scottish hounds aren’t tracking your man. But you have to stay here. Move to the house. By new things. Reinvent yourself again, and in a week you’ll be moved to a new state.” And with that Joe was gone in a flurry off knee length winter coat and hat. The younger SEAL cursed at the elder’s departing remark. Steve downed the rest of his coffee. Pulled on his hoodie and left through the back of the hotel taking care not to be followed.

 

\---H-50---

Steve hadn’t always been the up with the sun kind of guy, however the Navy had changed that. Now he got up at 05:00 in the morning went for a run, swim or both if he felt like it before going to work. When he'd been hiding in New Jersey he'd been a bar owner and manager. Here he's the head of Five-o, and  _ no one _ is going to stop him from seeing his little girl and his little boy. The cat was already out of the bag, so to speak. So he was going to see Gracie and Charlie. However, the team had sat him down to warn him about what had transpired since his supposed death. And it wasn't pretty.

Steve listened to their words and could see tell events payout in his mind's eye in even greater detail than he was told. Simply because he knew his stepkids and knew his husband. He turned his head to the door that led into the main war room of Five-o Headquarters and the scene played out.

_ Grace walked- no sauntered- into the room a chip on her shoulder obvious in the lines of her face and the dimmed and furious light in her chocolate eyes. Hair sweeping around her face where she'd had bangs six months before. She stood tall in her heels and walked right up to Danny. “We need to talk.”  _

_ Danny gave her a look that begged can you give me ten minutes to finish this up, but verbally he responded as he always did to his daughter, “Of course,” as he led Gracie. Into his office. Her hands immediately flying about her person the same way a lively Danno’s hands would. Danny not wanting to yell at her would suck in a breath lay a hand on one hip and gesture with the other. He'd ask in a calm voice, “Look, Grace, I wish that I could bring S-Steve,” Danny would choke on his name, his throat so thick with emotion but carry on anyways. “But Monkey, I can't bring back the dead. No one has that sort of power. It's impossible.” Danny noticing the look Grace gave him would start to raise his voice just the slightest, “What do you want me to do then? Huh? It does not work that way. They murdered Steve, ergo all I can do is try with my last breath to hunt down the son of a bitch that killed him. Alright?” and that would be the first thing to set Grace off. Grace blind to her father's pain because of her own would have started ranting and raving. But the last thing she'd say would leave Danny just as broken as Steve's “funeral”.  _

_ “I hate you! It's all your fault!” screams flailing down into a glacial whisper as she wrenched the door to Danny's office open, “It should have been you in that car. Not him.” before she fled the office. The last thing she said to her father. _

Steve sucked in a breath and ran his hands through his hair. Grace is sixteen and stubborn as hell. Just like both of her parents in that. Though Steve had been around enough in Grace's life that she should have known better than to speak to Danny that way, ever. Once they got done debriefing Steve of the last two years Steve went home to sleep and to plot. He had a son and daughter to age up to. And a little girl that he needed to have some serious words with.

He'd gone home aired out the house and sat down on the lanai with a beer fresh bought. Thinking. After his third he'd gone up to bed with a solid plan in place. Which is how he'd found himself here. Standing in front of Grace with Charlie wrapped around his legs as best as a six year old could. 

“Your mom said that I could borrow you for the day. That is if you don't have plans?” Steve arched a brow at the girl standing frozen in the entryway. Steve rescued his legs by bending down, hoisting Charlie up, and tickling him like hell drawing out peels of laughter from the little boy. “Well it's up to you Grace. Have ten to make it to the truck before me and Charlie head out to get shave ice.” with that Steve turned around and carried the boy to the truck. Acting like nothing was amiss and that the 67 pound little boy weighed as much as a gallon of milk.

Grace shook her head and dashed out the door after a few minutes and caught up with him. “What is going on?” she demanded once they were driving down the road.

“Why don't you tell me Grace?” Steve asked turning the corner.

“I don't know what you mean.” she tried to evade.

“Bull crap Grace Williams. You have never lied to me don't you start now.” Steve said in his  _ dad _ tone.

“Oh and you haven't lied to me and Charlie and everyone else?!” She snapped back.

Steve pulled over and turned to look at her in the eyes. He took a quick peek to make sure Charlie still had the headphones on and was playing his game on Steve's phone. “It was either fake my death and keep you, and Charlie and Danno safe through ignorance or let a sniper take pot shots at you all. That what you want to know, Grace?” Steve asked calmly like he was asking for a glass of water. Grace paled. “Imagine my surprise when I go to come here yesterday to pick you up and tell you Danny was kidnapped three days ago and I'm stopped and told you haven't spoken to your father in months. That the last thing anyone knew you had told him was  _ ‘I wish it would have been you.’ _ To the very man who has done nothing but love and adore you for the last 16 almost 17 years. He gave up his job, his family, his friends and his house to move 6,000 miles for you and you alone when he and your mother got divorced. He for the first 10 or twelve years of your life was single mindedly devoted to his daughter. What was her name again? Oh yeah. Grace Williams. Can you point her out to me, ma'am? Because I don't see her.” Steve turned and faced front again before starting the truck back up and heading for Kamekona’s. 

The rest of the drive was silent and Charlie was completely oblivious to the chastisement that Grace had been on the receiving end of. Getting the shave ice and taking a seat he chatted with Charlie while Grace stabbed at the frozen sweet with vicious cycle in her thoughts as they played over her face. Steve had given her something to think about. A lots of  things to think about. After five hours of reconnecting with Charlie and Grace he dropped them off back with Rachel before heading into the office.

 

\---H-50---

 

It had taken a week before they finally got a location to perform a raid on.  Steve stayed at headquarters doing the liaison work with the computer table and keeping Five-o and SWAT safe from any nasty surprises.

They cleared the entire warehouse to find only a slip of paper with a container number and a set of coordinates. The signs that Danny had once been there was telling. By analysis he'd been there a couple hours before the raid. Steve was steaming out his ears he was so livid. He stood with the team (minus Danny which made them all ten times more tense)  and had Chin run the number and the GPS coordinates. It was in the middle of the ocean. Far from land.  _ And  _ in cold waters. By satellite footage there is literally nothing there. 

Kono’s brows furrowed before asking a very confusing question. “What type of shipping container was that number belonging to?”

“What you mean cuz?” Chin asked as he looked it up.

“I mean, is it one of the newer models that seal up air tight?” she asked.

Chin studied the information on the screen, “Yeah why?”

“So say if it was dunked in the ocean jam packed it could be retrieved and what was inside would be relatively undamaged?” and her eyebrows climbed higher and higher as he nodded.

“So you're saying, you  _ think, _ Danny's in that container at that location sinking to the bottom of the Pacific?” Lou asked in a doubtful tone.

“think about it!” Kono cried out and started pacing, “They had a 3 hour head start to get there and dump it. So that's at least an hour or two of oxygen used up for Danny. And by the computer's calculations there's only 6 hours of air of Danny panics. Give or take. 15 if he just lays there and controls his breathing. Max. 15 hours of air max. Take into account how long it'll take to locate and retrieve and for us to even get there… we're looking at 8 hours already. Something tells me by the time we get there it may be too late.”

They all stared at Kono when she spun on her heel to face them at the end of her last circuit and words. Steve's eyes widened, “Claustrophobia. I completely forgot- He's claustrophobic. He'll panic which cuts down on air. And then calm down enough to try to escape and use the rest up in his useless attempts.” Steve waved one hand much like an aggravated Danny does to make a point before reaching for his phone.

“What are you doing?” Lou asked.

“Calling the Secretary of The Navy.-” he paused and turned back to the phone as it was answered. “Steven J McGarrett, yes, thank you. It's an emergency.” Steve paced and ran a hand over his face before jumping to attention again. “Sir… yes sir. I have a line on Hesse and his hounds but I need help retrieving an asset… No, sir. Victim. Daniel McGarrett, sir… airtight container in the middle of the ocean. There's 4 hours of oxygen left by our calculations at max. Yes, sir. Thank you sir. Of course sir. I will. Thank you again.” and he finally hung up.

Looking up to the team he sighed and scrubbed his face. “We'll have to trust SEAL team 2, and 3 along with the destroyer,  _ Seahawk _ to get to him. It's the closest ship to his location. They're an hour out from Danny. I'm expecting a phone call from Owen's here-” and his phone rang. Answering it he gave a gruff, “McGarrett,” listening a minute he nodded and replied. He gave the coordinates and time frame they had. Spoke for a few more minutes on details before Steve slouched boneless into a chair they'd rolled around the table sometime in the last week. 

“I'm a mess, aren't I?” Steve asked voice completely wrecked, and not in the “ _ best sex of my life _ ” sort of wrecked either.

“A little bit boss, but you know it'll turn out okay right, brah?” Kono said.

Steve shrugged a shoulder and looked a bit lost, “I was 23…” he offered.

They all looked confused, “23?” Chin asked gently as they all grabbed seats.

“Yeah… I met him on my 23rd birthday.” Steve gave a wry chuckle, “Norfolk. We'd gotten a four day leave at Norfolk and a few buddies of mine and I went partying. I can't remember why he was in the area but he was. Met at this little dive of a bar. Best burger in the world I swear. Good enough to pass the Danny test, at the very least.” and Steve chuckled at the memory. Danny had moaned around the burger he was eating making them laugh and all Danny had said was  _ “Do you guys know how hard it is to find a good burger anymore? I mean really. I haven't had a good burger since Hauser's old man retired and let his brat take over. The burgers suck there anymore.” _ it had made them all laugh but he'd rarely seen Danny that in love with a burger before. Danny preferred to make them than order them.   


Kono quirked an eyebrow though, “How long you two been married?” 

“Technically 6 years. But mentality wise?” he quirked a grin, “16. We have always gotten along the way we do now. That has never changed” 

“Wait 6 years? Officially?” Lou asked gaping.

Steve nodded arching his eyebrows. It was Chin that asked though. “What month?”

“take a wild guess” Steve dared.

Kono gasped before she started laughing, “You didn't?”

“Well yeah. Why not? It worked  _ and _ it was official. Besides after the fact when I even suggested getting it absolved he read me the riot act and told me “shove it up your ass Squid. It's done now. I swore I wasn't getting another divorce and you're not making me into a liar.” So really...it's all Danny’s fault we are still married.”

Lou held up his hands, “Wait wait wait! Hold on one damn minute. What do you mean?”

Kono and Chin smirked though it was Chin that started the explanation, “Well we caught this case. It was a serial killer that was obsessed with a certain dynamic and victimology.  The killer went after couples in couples therapy. One in the military the other a high maintenance lover or spouse. The military man always quiet and reserved. Not very emotional. Held everything in until a full blown knock out drag out fight would explode between the lovers, then it all exploded out. The high maintenance one would yell, scream and harp trying to force the communication that they so desperately needed but in ways that weren't productive. A history of cheating on one side or the other but they still wanted to work it out.” 

Chin picked up the story, “So after a full day off to rest up and let Danny and Steve's cover solidify we come into Steve and Danny and the Governor standing around this computer. Danny shoot a look at Steve. Steve being stoic and Danny signing a paper. The Governor whisper something then gather all the papers together and leave with a whispered word to the two.”

“She told Danny and I congratulations.” Steve threw in with a smile. “Then Danny asked me, That wasn't real was it? I didn't answer just went into the office and grabbed my uniform and headed to the locker room to change. In the car he asked again and I just shrugged but handed him a box with a wedding ring that I'd bought a while back. He slipped it on and into the therapist's office we went. Since all the victims went to the same office but saw different shrinks. When we got back into the car he asked who was paying for the outlandish priced therapy sessions. I told him the navy. He asked me how and I kinda clamped up. It wasn't until the end of the case that it came out in a cargument. And you heard his response to the idea of a divorce or annulment.” Steve smirked and shrugged.

Steve glanced at his watch before he pulled himself up to the computer and pulled up satellite images of the place they believed Danny is. They saw the destroyer had arrived and zoomed in on the activity. It had been forty-five minutes since the last phone call. So they watched as the crane or equivalent of pull up a shipping container from the ocean floor. Fifteen minutes later Steve got the phone call that Danny was alive but when they pulled him from the container he'd passed out from a head injury induced headache combined with a panic attack. 

They all collapsed back breathing a sigh of relief. Steve went so far as to pull his dog tags that shared a chain with his wedding ring and he followed through with kissing the ring and closing his eyes tightly sagging into the chair.


End file.
